Abuse occurs in all communities, regardless of their ethnic, socio-economic, geographic and religious make-up. A child who has been abused is less likely to reach their full potential as an individual, may struggle to focus on learning, and may fail to thrive.
What is Keeping Ourselves Safe?
Keeping Ourselves Safe [KOS] consists of a comprehensive range of child protection resources to help students learn and apply a range of safety skills that they can use when interacting with others. For more information, you can access all the KOS resources here, or see the frequently asked questions (PDF, 66KB),
How parents/whānau can support KOS
Parents and whānau are strongly encouraged to support KOS by:
- ensuring the Board of Trustees has established and regularly reviews a child protection policy that includes:
- prevention procedures, which might include implementing classroom lessons and whole-school activities that promote positive behaviours, and that encourage an environment in which children who feel abused are empowered to speak up about the abuse.
- response procedures that clearly describe how to identitify and respond to suspected abuse and neglect.
- encouraging other parents/whānau to attend parent events before the classroom lessons start
- supporting their child with the home-based activities that are included in the KOS programme.
KOS resources for parents/whānau
A range of resources are provided for parents and whānau as part of KOS. They include:
- KOS parent workshop questions (DOC, 19KB)
- Are your kids safe: A pamphlet for parents, caregivers and whānau (PDF) – in English
- Kei te noho haumaru āu tamariki? (PDF) – in te Reo
- Keeping kiwi kids safer in cyberspace: A pamphlet for parents and caregivers (PDF)
- Safely home: A guidebook for parents and caregivers (PDF) – how to ensure the safety of children left on their own
- Keeping kids safer: A guide for parents and caregivers to help keep children safer from abuse (PDF) – a resource adapted from the project No Excuse for Abuse! by the Young New Zealanders’ Foundation
- Keeping Ourselves Safe: A pamphlet for parents, caregivers and whānau (PDF) – describes the Keeping Ourselves Safe programme
- Te haumaru i a tātou ake (PDF) – describes the Keeping Ourselves Safe programme in Te Reo
- Learn about child abuse – a section on the Child Matters website that describes what child abuse is, signs and causes of child abuse, myths and realities, and what to do
- Who abuses children? - information about the myth of 'stranger danger'.